The use of pesticides in East Africa, some sold by European firms despite being banned in the EU, is killing off bees in large numbers and threatening whole eco-systems, scientists say.
Joseph Ruzigana, of Muhanga district in southern Rwanda, woke up one morning to find all the bees in his 20 newly constructed beehives had died.
“Fellow beekeepers have also lost plenty of bees to these dangerous pesticides. It looks like we won’t get any honey this season,” he told AFP.
Ruzigana said many beekeepers, who number more than 100,000 in Rwanda according to officials, were giving up.
